AkuRoku: Let us count the days of Christmas
by Naomi Neko
Summary: Roxas discovers the true meaning of christmas... and something else along the way. :3 Warning: contains yaoi AkuRoku
1. Day one

Day 1: When Christmas comes to town

It was a cold snowy morning. Tiny white flakes fell to the ground covering it in heavy blankets. The icy breeze whistled through the bare trees. Decorations of red and green covered the streets. Music played all around for the strange festivities that were going on.

The short spiky haired sixteen year old blond waited patiently for his best friend at the park. His carefully coordinated outfit consisted of a white winter jacket with black pockets and a black hood. With that were his matching black snow pants and white winter boots, complimenting along with his black gloves and earmuffs.

Finally his best friend showed up wearing a black jacket with white faux fur trimming. He wore black snow pants and with fuzzy white boots and matching white gloves. On his head was a black hat with the same white faux fur.

"Roxas, aren't you a bit early?" He grinned at his best friend while ruffling his bright blond hair.

"No Axel… you're just late as always." He sighed while pushing his best friend's hands away.

Roxas started walking down the sidewalk expecting Axel to follow beside him. Instead, Axel stood there with a saddened expression letting a traditional puppy dog pout form on his bottom lip. Roxas stopped in his tracks and noticed this.

"What's your problem?" He scowled at Axel. "Are you coming with me or not?" He finally turned and heard Axel whimper.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He held out his arms, hoping it would give his best friend the idea.

"I don't have any idea what you are talking about." He continued to star blankly at Axel, dumbfounded by his strange gestures.

Axel sighed and placed his arms around him, pulling him closer into a tight embrace. Roxas started to blush as he was forced to place his face into Axel's chest. Axel was snickering a bit as he placed a kiss against Roxas's forehead.

"What are you doing?" He pushed Axel away and wiped his forehead. "That was not something I had in mind."

"Aw, come on! That's what best friends do, silly." He smiled at Roxas. "Besides, it's the first day of Christmas, don't you think you should be happy?"

"Christ… mas?" He formed the strange words with another dumbfound expression. "I've never heard that before."

"Geez, Roxas… don't tell me you don't remember Christmas! Why do you think the streets are covered with red and green decorations?" He pointed to each street block. "Doesn't that give you the slightest idea what is going on?"

"Not really." He shrugged in confusion. "I told you before, I have never heard of this… christmas you speak of."

"Man… what am I going to do with you, little Roxas?" He sighed as he started to think of an explanation for his best friend. "Christmas is the time of giving. We celebrate it because well… hm... how do I even explain this?"

"But Axel… _why _do we celebrate Christmas?" He looked into Axel's sea green eyes. "That's what I really want to know."

"We celebrate it because it was the night our savior was born. He was born on christmas day and well… in order to continue those traditions… everyone buys presents for friends and family." He explained. "That's why you see all of these presents wrapped in red and green decorations."

"Oh." He couldn't say anything else about what he was just told. "There's still so much I don't understand though."

"You'll get it in time. If there's anything else you want to know you can always ask later." He placed a kiss on Roxas's cheek. "For now, you should think about what I've already told you."

"Fine." He sighed. "What should we do now?" He looked up at his best friend. "We could go ice skating or we could just hang out or something."

"We already are hanging out, silly." He smiled at Roxas. "I wouldn't mind going ice skating but we shouldn't rush things either."

"What else can we do?" He was getting bored of walking around. "Do you think you should go into some of these stores and look around?"

"Do you want to?" He looked at Roxas and smiled. "You and I need to get some Christmas stockings and other decorations."

"Is it even necessary?" He didn't want any useless things like that in his house.

"Of course it is. Everyone does it and I think we should too." He pulled Roxas into one of the stores. "It's the best way to get into the Christmas spirit."

"Oh." He poked at some of the different Christmas knick-knacks. "Are you sure this is completely necessary?"

"What did I just say?" He laughed at his best friend.

After buying useless decorations, Axel and Roxas managed to finally get home. Roxas helped Axel with the decorations.

"Now it really feels like Christmas in here." Axel grinned as he finished wrapping green and red garland around the railings.

"Yeah… sure." He shrugged.

Axel placed his arms tightly around him, almost toppling him over. Roxas collapsed into the couch as his best friend refused to let go. Axel kissed Roxas's forehead, while his cheeks had turned a bright red.

"Axel, stop…" He was getting annoyed by his friend's odd affection. "You're getting carried away with all this."

"Roxas, are you ticklish?" He started to snicker.

"Why do you want to know?" He frowned and hoped his friend wasn't getting ideas. "I'm pretty sure I'm not ticklish."

Axel started poking at his best friend's stomach, hearing his loud laughter. Roxas was blushing again and couldn't get away. Axel was smiling as he placed another kiss on his best friend's forehead.

"Hey Axel… what's a christmas tree?" He asked his best friend, while resting his head against his broad chest.

To be continued…


	2. Day two

Day two: Rockin' around the Christmas tree

It was still snowing early that next morning. Axel was doing something really strange when Roxas came downstairs. Roxas stared blankly as he placed weird objects on a large pine tree. Axel poked at his best friend's cheek, grinning at his dumbfound expression.

Roxas still wasn't getting the concept of having a tree in his living room. Axel kept poking at him, trying to get a response. Roxas realized the tree was almost as tall as his best friend, maybe a bit taller.

"Why is there a tree in my living room?" He finally spoke. "You're putting all these strange things on it."

"Silly Roxas. It's called a Christmas tree. It's part of the typical holiday spirit." He gave Roxas a strange looking star and picked him up. "Put the star on top of the tree."

"Don't you dare drop me." Roxas whined as he placed the tree on the top.

"Now, why would I do that?" He caught Roxas in his arms and grinned. "We need to go get some Christmas presents too."

"Isn't there something else we need?" Roxas asked him. "I mean don't we need Christmas paper?"

"We can get tht when we go shopping, silly." Axel poked his friend's cheek. "I think we could get Kairi some presents."

"What about Demyx?" Roxas had asked. "Should we get something for him too?"

"We can if you want too. We can get gifts for all of our friends. That's the whole point of Christmas." He patted Roxas on the head.

"Okay."

Axel pulled on his coat with white fur covering its edges. Roxas watched him pull on a pair of black snow pants and red gloves and earmuffs. Axel wore matching black boots and a red scarf.

"Are you getting ready?" He poked Roxas's arm. "We should go now before the Christmas rush starts."

Roxas pulled on his snow outfit and walked out the door. Axel watched him lock his door and stuff the key into his pocket. Roxas was thinking of the presents get his friends.

"Do you know what I want for Christmas?" Axel asked his best friend. "I wouldn't mind getting some art supplies."

"Since when are you an artist?" He nudged Axel's arm. "I've never seen you draw a single picture."

"That's because you never asked." He scowled. "Do you know what you want for Christmas?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "I didn't know I was supposed to have something I want for Christmas."

"Well, of course! How do you expect your friends to get you everything you want?" Axel poked his chest.

"Who would want to get me a present?" Roxas scowled. "I guess if I had to decide, it would be one of those new gameboy things."

"Oh, you mean a DS?" Axel grinned. "Yeah, it's a possibility. Is there anything thing else you want?"

"Music, I guess." Roxas shrugged. "They have these cool new MP3 players that can hold tons of songs."

"Okay. Is that all?" Axel kept prodding him for ideas. "You gotta have more than that for Christmas."

"Hm… I wish I knew. I guess a laptop computer." He shrugged again. "I'm not sure what else I want."

"Man… you're going to be expensive this year." Axel frowned. "You really can't think of anything better than that?"

"Not really." Roxas poked his face into a department store window. "Are those supposed to be toys?"

"What do you think they are?" Axel looked through the same window.

"Toys?" Roxas looked up at his best friend. "I want to have one of those model trains though."

"You mean like something remote control?" He suggested. "That's another thing you should ask for."

"Remote… control?" He stared at Axel with a dumbfound look. "What does that mean?"

"Oh Roxas… what will I ever do with you?" Axel chuckled as he placed his hand over his best friend's head. "You might just have to wait until Christmas."

"Oh." Roxas looked down and scowled. "Why do I have to wait until Christmas anyway?"

"Because its tradition." He told Roxas. "Anyway, I'm thinking of getting Kairi a music box or something."

"What should I get her?" He asked. "I mean… what do girls even like?" Roxas looked up at Axel.

"I'm assume anything that counts as girly." He shrugged. "Kairi is the type of girl would be happy with just about anything."

"That doesn't tell me very much." Roxas scowled. "Can't you do better than that?" He replied.

"Hm… why not get her something for her hair? She says she likes hair ribbons and barrettes." He told Roxas. "She also likes jewelry… mostly bracelets though."

"Oh… anything else?" Roxas followed Axel into the store. "I don't know what any of your friends like."

"Roxas, they aren't just my friends." He poked his best friend's rosy cheek. "Kairi, Riku and Sora are your friends too."

"Okay." He poked around for something to get Kairi. "How about lotion or something like this?"

Axel looked at the melon berry bath set he picked out. Roxas loved the smell it had and thought she would like it.

"Roxas, that's perfect. I just hope you can wrap it because I'm not." He snickered as he poked Roxas.

"Gee, thanks a lot…" He frowned. "I'll just find a box to put it in." He picked out a large green box.

"What do you think of Christmas paper with snowmen?" Axel asked Roxas.

"It seems fine with me." Roxas shrugged.

After getting wrapping paper and a few presents, Roxas and Axel got him to wrap them up and place them under the tree. Axel placed his arms around Roxas's stomach and smiled. Roxas didn't know why he did this all the time.

"Why do you always seem so affectionate?" Roxas finally asked. "Its kind of annoying and a little embarrassing."

"That's… just what best friends do." Axel told him, hiding the true reason. "Friends care about each other and sometimes snuggle to show that."

"Oh… whatever." Roxas shrugged as he buried his face into Axel's chest. "It feels kind of nice."

Axel rubbed his back and continued to smile. Roxas was blushing a bit but didn't have any idea why. Axel could feel Roxas's heart hammering into his chest.

To be continued…


	3. Day three

Day three: Santa Claus is coming to town

The snow was falling lightly to the ground. Roxas woke up with Axel's arms wrapped around his stomach. Axel was snoring a little bit but not enough to annoy his best friend.

Roxas slipped away from Axel's embrace and went downstairs, plopping down on his couch. The TV had a man in strange red clothing, looking plump with a white beard.

Axel finally came downstairs and smiled at the man on the TV. Roxas looked strangely at his best friend, wondering what he knew. Axel poked at his usual dumbfound expression and chuckled.

"Who is that on the TV?" Roxas pointed to the television set. "Do you know anything about him?"

"Everyone knows about Santa Claus. He gives good boys and girls christmas presents on the night of Christmas eve." Axel explained. "He comes down a chimney too and flies with a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer."

"That sounds so cool!" Roxas's face lit up. "Is there anyway we can go see him?" He smiled.

"Yeah um… they have a Santa at that department store we were at yesterday." He looked at the clock. "If we hurry, I bet we can be the first ones in line."

"Okay."

Roxas and Axel bundled up and ran towards the store. The two were lucky enough to be first in line. Roxas had never felt this excited about Christmas before.

"Do you know what you want to ask Santa for?" Axel asked, breaking the silence between the two of them.

"I'm not really sure. What are you going to ask him for?" He looked up at his friend.

"That's a secret I'm entitled to keeping." He tapped his finger against Roxas's nose. "I love your enthusiasm though. It looks like you're finally getting Christmas."

Axel let Roxas go ahead of him to see Santa. Roxas sat dumbfounded on his big lap and blushed. Axel couldn't help chuckle at his first time meeting the big guy.

"I'm not really sure what I want for Christmas." He finally said. "I guess… in a way if I really had to make up my mind… it would be to fully understand what my heart is telling me."

"Hm… that's a pretty big wish, young man." He rubbed his white beard. "I'll have to see what I can do."

Roxas smiled and climbed off his lap, waiting for Axel to get up there. Axel had done it like a pro, as if he had done it before. Roxas couldn't hear what he was whispering into Santa's ear.

Axel blushed when he pointed to Roxas, who could only stand blankly back. Roxas had no idea what was going on. Axel smiled and took Roxas around the store.

"Why are you so quiet now?" Roxas looked up at him. "It's not like you to act this way, you know."

"Sorry… I can't really tell you what I told Santa. At least not right now, its just something that I know you wouldn't get." He sighed as he patted his best friend's back.

"If it bothers you, don't you think you should say something?" He hated seeing the sad expression. "Best friends don't keep things from each other."

"This is different. Besides, it doesn't bother me, don't worry…" Axel gave Roxas a fake smile. "Do you still want to get something for Sora and Riku?"

"Uh… sure." He shrugged. "We could also get something for Demyx, Marluxia and Larxene."

"We'll have to buy more Christmas paper." He was finally himself again. "Oh! You and I should make cookies too! We can do it together!"

"Okay… sure, I guess." He was blushing when Axel had said that. "Are you talking about making Christmas cookies?"

"Obviously." He laughed at Roxas. "Geez, Roxas… you have to think about these things before you ask questions."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas scowled. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"Actually… I think it's cute." He moved his lips towards Roxas's and frowned. "I don't think you'd understand." Axel blushed as he hesitated.

"You're not making any sense, Axel." He looked up at the sad expression in his face again. "Can't you tell me what's on your mind?"

"You're not ready to hear it." He poked around the toy section and noticed a toy RC car for a test run. "Roxas look! This is what I meant by an RC car yesterday."

Axel showed him the controls and how they worked. Roxas's face lit up with joy as he couldn't put it down. Axel loved the look on his face and couldn't help smile.

"This is so much fun!" Roxas grinned as he continued to drive the car around. "I think I'm getting the hang of it."

Axel placed his hands on Roxas's hands and helped him steer. Roxas blushed as his best friend was able to do a better job. Axel snickered and let him control it again.

"You should get me one of these for Christmas." He grinned. "They would be so much fun to play with."

"If you're good." He smiled and stole a kiss from Roxas's cheek. "Do you think you can be good?" Axel placed his arms around him.

"Y—Yeah… I'm always good, aren't I?" He looked into Axel's sea green eyes and started to blush. "What do you think you're doing?"

Axel smiled as he ruffled with Roxas's hair. Roxas groaned and pulled away from his friend's awkward embrace. Axel seemed to chuckle and watched him play.

To be continued…


	4. day four

Day four: Sleigh Ride

It was bitter cold that morning as snow fell slowly to the ground. Roxas had just woken up from his slumber. Axel was already downstairs setting up more decorations around their house. Roxas still didn't understand the spirit of Christmas.

Axel smiled at his best friend and ruffled with his blond hair. Roxas groaned and pushed his hand away. Axel continued to smile as he finished up with the decorations.

"I still don't see how this is really necessary." He frowned at Axel. "I mean is this supposed to get me into the spirit?"

"Don't tell me you still haven't figured it out." He poked his friend's stomach. "You better get it together if you want to go on the sleigh ride with me."

"Sleigh… ride?" Roxas stared at him with a dumbfound expression. "What the hell is a sleigh ride?"

"Roxas, you are far from hopeless." He pressed his thumb and fore finger against the bridge of his nose. "A sleigh ride is just as it is… a sleigh driven by a horse."

"How does the horse know where it's going?" He continued to ask useless questions that a six year old could figure out in seconds. "Is that even possible?"

"Okay… look, if you tag along, you'll find out for yourself, alright?" He couldn't help blush a bit at Roxas's cute confused expression.

Roxas sighed and went upstairs to clean up. Axel was already go when he finally came downstairs. Roxas bundled up and walked out with him.

"Are we going to walk there?" He asked without thinking.

"Roxas, do you ever think about the questions you ask before you ask them?" He couldn't help snicker at his friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He scowled at Axel. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Roxas nudged his friend's stomach with his bony elbow. Axel giggled and nudged him back in return. Roxas blushed and looked away, unsure of why his heart was hammering his chest.

"Is something wrong, buddy?" Axel noticed the anxiousness filling his eyes. "You look troubled by something."

"It's… it's nothing." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I told you not to worry so much about me, didn't I?"

"You know that can't be helped." Axel blushed a little at his friend. "Anyway, there is the carriage."

"I thought you said it was a sleigh?" He was more confused now.

"Carriage… sleigh… there isn't much of a difference." He shrugged. "Just bare with me and you'll do fine."

"Whatever you say." Roxas frowned as he climbed into the carriage. "I just hope you know what you are doing."

"Of course I do!" He poked his friend's stomach. "It's all in good and happy fun if you don't make this boring."

Roxas sighed again as he sat right next to his best friend. Axel placed his arms around him and pulled him close. Roxas felt as if he was forced to snuggle against his friend.

Axel placed a kiss against his forehead and smiled. Roxas rested his head against his chest and blushed a little. Axel shivered a little, even with his best friend holding him tightly.

"A-A-A-Achoo!" He sneezed into his gloved hand and rubbed his slight stuffy nose with his finger.

The sleigh ride started to move which had startled Roxas at first. Their destination was a long ride around the huge park. Axel was rubbing his friend's back and doing his best to keep him warm.

"You better not get sick on me." He snickered at his friend as he tried not to cough. "I won't be too happy."

"It seems to me like you're the one that's getting sick." He looked up at Axel's cherry red nose and bright red cheeks. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Relax, Roxas! I'm totally fine… A-A-Achoo!" He sneezed again, only this time feeling a slight tickle in his throat. "It's probably nothing… I'm sure its just the sniffles."

"Yeah, whatever you say." He sighed. "When is this ride supposed to end, anyway?"

"Well, it makes a round trip so, I couldn't really say." Axel shrugged. "Are you getting cold?"

"No… th—that's not… that's not why." He shivered a bit as he tried to hide the blush filling his cheeks. "I was just curious, is all."

"Roxas, you are a total wonder, you know that?" He replied as he kissed his forehead again.

"That's what you always say." He frowned. "Don't you think that's getting a little old by now?"

"Not really. You just never cease to amaze me." He smiled at his best friend and held him tighter to keep him warm.

"Wasn't this supposed to be fun?" Roxas was getting bored and suffered such a short attention span.

"Why, you're not having any fun?" He frowned as he looked down at him. "We really need to do something about that attention span of yours."

"Oh shut up, Axel." He scowled at his friend.

It wasn't long before they finally returned to where they started. Axel was getting tired and so was Roxas. The ride home would be worse since they had walked so far to get to the carriage.

Once they were home, the two both made lunch and ate together. Axel laid down on the couch for a while. Roxas placed a hand over his best friend's forehead, feeling a little worried. Axel felt a little warm but it didn't seem like it was of much concern.

To be continued…


	5. day five

Day five: Christmas sniffles

It was bitter cold that morning. This time there had been a bit of a blizzard going. Roxas had woken up before his best friend. Axel was still sleeping soundly next to him again as he snored lightly. Roxas blushed as he watched him sleep so peacefully.

Roxas had a little concern for his best friend. Axel usually wasn't a late sleeper like himself. Roxas placed his hand against his forehead and frowned.

_He feels kind of… warm. _He frowned as he thought to himself. _I hope he's not sick or anything._

Axel groaned as he turned in his sleep. Roxas pulled away, thinking he would probably just be waking up. Axel hadn't opened a single eye and continued to snore. Roxas wasn't sure what to do at that point.

_I don't want to wake him up if he isn't feeling well but… _He sighed to himself as he pulled the covers over his friend. _I guess if it's just to know how he feels…_

Roxas shook him from his slumber. Axel whimpered a bit and stared sleepily at his best friend. Roxas's eyes were filled with worry as he stared back into his faded sea green eyes.

"Axel, are you sure your feeling alright?" He finally asked before his friend dozed back to sleep. "You're burning up and your nose is all red."

"You can't figure it out just by realizing that?" He replied as he broke into heavy coughing. "It feels like I'm swallowing shards of broken glass when I cough or swallow…"

"Does that mean your throat hurts?" Roxas's usual twenty questions were soon about to start.

"Yes, Roxas… my throat hurts." He poked his best friend's stomach and smiled. "Are you worried about me?"

Roxas looked away before he started to blush. Axel was so good at seeing the emotion that filled his eyes. Roxas couldn't hide it, even if he wanted to.

"A—A… A little bit." He said as he continued to blush. "Is that a bad thing or something?"

"No, it's just really cute that you seem so caring." He smiled before going into another coughing fit. "Are you going to nurse me back to health now or what?"

Roxas blushed again and tried to pull away. Axel grabbed his waist and pulled him closer while frowning. Roxas didn't know why he hated the strange expression in his friend's face.

"Why are you running away from me?" He frowned. "You know I'm not feeling well, Roxas!"

"Yeah but… do we have to go through this?" He pushed Axel away and sighed. "You know that's not what best friend's do."

"Well… maybe I want to be _more _than best friends!" He pouted at his friend and blushed when realizing what he just said. "…I mean um… wait, that was the fever talking."

Axel looked away before once again making mistakes. Roxas sat there in silence while trying to make sense of his friend's feelings. Axel didn't say a word to him either as he wiped his nose with some tissues.

"What do you mean by… more than friends?" He finally asked with a strong sense of courage. "I don't understand those words."

"Nothing. All it's going to do is confuse you more and I don't want that." He sighed as he went into the bathroom.

Roxas was indeed confused by what he just said. Axel was acting stranger than usual and it wasn't just his cold. Roxas sighed as he finally got a chance to make his bed.

Axel came out of the restroom and rubbed his eyes. Roxas noticed the oral thermometer he placed into his left ear. Axel took it out after it beeped and checked his temperature.

"100.4 degrees is a little above normal, don't you agree, Roxas?" He looked at his best friend, still just barely waking up. "I have a splitting headache and I can't talk without my throat hurting more."

Axel spoke his words with a low rattly voice, filled with excruciating pain. Roxas heard him sniffle every few seconds which indicated how stuffy and congested he was. Axel snuggled under the covers but still shivered with chills and fatigue.

"I'm going downstairs before I end up getting sick." He frowned as he was about to walk away. "Besides, you should probably rest."

Roxas felt the cold, weakened grasp clinging to his wrist, as it pulled him back. Axel dragged his best friend under the covers and snuggled close to him. Roxas couldn't help blushing and couldn't pull away.

"A child's body heat can feel so toasty warm." He replied with a soft raspy voice. "It feels so soothing…"

"I'm not a child, Axel." He blushed more while his best friend's arms wrapped tighter around his stomach. "You're awfully clingy all of a sudden."

There was an awkward silence that cut their conversation too quickly. The only sounds that were heard was congested breathing and a light snore coming from his sick best friend.

Roxas looked down and noticed he had fallen asleep. Axel had been a bit too close for comfort. Roxas would have a hard time releasing himself from his tight grip without waking him up.

Axel's arms finally loosened around his friend's stomach. Roxas took his chance and slipped away without causing him to wake up. Axel turned in his sleep and stayed buried under the heavy covers.

Roxas didn't know how to cook and barely knew how to work the microwave. Axel was still sleeping and hopefully for a few hours. Roxas finally figured out how to work the can opener and poured chicken noodle soup into a microwaveable bowl.

Axel usually did most of the cooking, since he was better at it. Roxas would basically eat what he cooked but now he was forced to fend for himself. Axel wouldn't be cooking until he was feeling better.

Roxas warmed up the chicken noodle soup and placed it on a tray. He poured cold ginger ale into a glass and placed a flexible straw into it. Roxas carried the tray upstairs without spilling it.

Axel was still sleeping peacefully and gave his friend odd thoughts. Roxas tried to wake him up while holding the tray. Axel moaned a bit and buried his throbbing head under the deep covers.

"Axel! I know you're not feeling well but you need to wake up." He nudged him with his foot and finally wakened him.

"Why did you wake me up so soon?" He yawned as he rubbed the heavy sleep from his eyes. "I was sleeping really good until you woke me up."

"I try hard to figure out how to work the microwave and you want to sleep!" He scowled as he placed the tray in front of him. "You should be proud."

"You didn't set the house on fire while I was sleeping, did you?" He coughed heavily when he tried to laugh. "It seems like you did a good job."

"I hope so. It took forever to figure out how to use the microwave." Roxas watched Axel eat a little soup and sip some ginger ale.

"It was sweet of you to work so hard!" He leaned in and placed a deep kiss on the side of his best friend's mouth. "You also learned how to use the can opener."

Roxas looked away and hid the blush filling his cheeks. Axel's kiss had felt so close to his lips that seemed like an actual kiss. Roxas carried down the empty bowl downstairs.

"Too bad we couldn't be more than friends." Axel told him before falling fast asleep again. "Because that would really make me feel better…"

Roxas blushed as his friend's eyes closed, putting him into a deep sleep. Axel hadn't realized what he was saying. Roxas didn't understand what his words meant.

Axel woke up a few hours later and came downstairs. Roxas had fallen asleep on the couch shortly after his friend woke up. Axel felt his cheeks to make sure he wasn't sick too.

Roxas slowly opened his eyes and blushed madly. Axel started to blush too but also smiled at him. Roxas rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at him.

"What did you mean by us being more than friends?" He finally had the courage to ask his friend. "I don't understand that."

"Heh… you heard that, huh?" His cheeks reddened as he looked away. "I guess that means I have to explain."

"It would help if you did." He frowned. "You spend so much time trying to confuse me with phrases I don't know."

"Well… um… let's see, how should I explain this?" He started coughing while curling on the couch beside his friend. "You know how two people fall in love and they become a couple?"

"Sort of." He listened to everything his friend explained. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Basically, when you say more than friends… it means being like a couple." He explained to him. "It's not like you would acknowledge my feelings though."

"I don't even understand what I feel myself." He sighed as he rubbed his stomach. "I always get these odd feelings around you."

"What kind of odd feelings?" He grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. "You can tell me and I might be able to help you."

"Well… my stomach gets all weird and fuzzy. Plus my heart starts hammering in my chest too…" He started to explain. "It only happens when you're around me."

"Hm. What do you feel when I do this?" He wrapped his arms tightly around his friend and slid his hand under the back of his dark blue jeans.

Roxas squirmed a bit before feeling a little comfort. Axel let him crawl into his arms and place his stomach against his own. Roxas buried his head into his best friend's chest and blushed.

"Why does my heart hammer my chest?" He wanted an answer fast. "It feels so odd like it's trying to pry itself out of its place."

"Most people would call it love." He smiled as his hand continued to stroke the bare skin under his best friend's jeans. "Did you forget to put on your underwear?"

"That's not your concern… and don't change the subject!" He scowled at Axel even with his bright red cheeks. "Are you sure it's not something else?"

"That's the same thing I feel when I'm around you." He kissed his friend's forehead and gave him a smile. "It means well… that… I'm in love with you."

"I guess that means I am too, right?" He blushed even more when saying that. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Just relax and accept our relationship in the couple stage." He smiled as his hand continued to rub his friend's bottom. "I'm still not feeling well but being with you helps."

"Don't you think we should take things slowly?" He pulled away from his friend and blushed. "I'm a little uncomfortable about this whole… relationship thing."

"Geez Roxas… don't take forever like you did when we became friends!" He frowned as he rubbed his friend's cheek. "You just need to give it a chance."

"Fine but don't rush it… please?" He blushed and looked away from him. "I need to time to adjust."

Axel cupped his friend's chin in his palm, leaning his lips close. Roxas closed his eyes and seemed afraid of what was going to happen. Axel could feel his heavy breath brushing past his cold lips.

"A-A-Achoo!" He sneezed into his friend's face and blushed. "You're right. Let's take things slower so we can savior the moments."

Roxas was surprised the agreement was so easy. Axel would usually whine when something like that was made. Roxas hoped it wasn't just because of the fever.

To be continued…


End file.
